Integrative taxonomy of the gymnophthalmid lizard Neusticurus rudis Boulenger, 1900 identifies a new species in the eastern Pantepui region,north-eastern South America

ABSTRACT

The gymnophthalmid lizard genus Neusticurus Duméril and Bibron, 1839 currently contains six described species. One of them, Neusticurus rudis Boulenger, 1900 has a long history of taxonomic confusion, and uncertainty remains about the number of species involved under that name, especially in the Pantepui region. Our molecular phylogenetic (concatenation and species tree) and morphological (morphometrics, external and hemipenial morphology) analyses confirm Neusticurus rudis as a species complex with several candidate species in the eastern Pantepui region. Neusticurus rudis is here redescribed based on the re-examination of the holotype and 10 specimens from the vicinity of the type locality (ca. 15 km airline) in Guyana. The geographic distribution of N. rudis sensu stricto is restricted to east of the Venezuelan Gran Sabana, extending from the slopes of Mount Roraima in Venezuela through the slopes of Maringma-tepui and Wayalayeng to Mount Ayanganna in Guyana, between 678 and 1500 m elevation. Populations tentatively assigned to N. rudis also occur from Mount Wokomung in the Pakaraima Mountains of Guyana to the Iwokrama Forest Reserve in Guyana, between 159 and 1234 m elevation. A new Neusticurus species is described from the uplands and highlands of the eastern Pantepui region, west of the Venezuelan Gran Sabana in Brazil and Venezuela, between 900 and 2200 m elevation. Populations provisionally assigned to the new species were also found from the La Escalera region to Chivatón, the summit of Abakapá-tepui and the slopes and summit of Auyán-tepui, Venezuela, between 1100 and 2203 m elevation. Our results suggest the Gran Sabana as a possible recent biogeographical barrier for the genus in the region and indicate that tepui-summit Neusticurus populations derive from uplands populations that shifted their habitat preference.

www.zoobank.org/lsid:zoobank.org:pub:33DCF862-11CF-4FD0-B4D6-706E2C6A339E     

Necrophagous or predators? The role of Pheidole radoszkowskii Mayr (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) on Rattus norvegicus (Berkenhout) carcasses (Rodentia: Muridae)

This study aimed to identify the feeding habit of Pheidole radoszkowskii Mayr on Rattus norvegicus (Berkenhout) carcasses, as well as whether its presence limits the occurrence of flies. Pheidole radoszkowskii exhibited more necrophagous than predatory behaviour. Its abundance was inversely proportional to that of flies, confirming that this ant species may cause lesions in carcasses and its presence limits the occurrence of flies. This work clarifies the behaviour of an ant species often encountered on carcasses.     

基于UML炼钢-连铸车间生产调度系统建模

为了适应炼钢-连铸生产调度系统对实时性和动态性的要求，用Unified Modeling Language(UML)对该问题建立了需求模型、静态模型和动态模型，探讨了使用UML建模的特点及关键技术，结果表明，UML能够将系统的结构与数据良好的结合起来，精确体现系统的需求。     

Two-band superconductivity in LaFeAsO0.89F0.11 at very high magnetic fields

The recent synthesis of the superconductor LaFeAsO(0.89)F(0.11) with transition temperature T(c) approximately 26 K (refs 1-4) has been quickly followed by reports of even higher transition temperatures in related compounds: 41 K in CeFeAsO(0.84)F(0.16) (ref. 5), 43 K in SmFeAsO(0.9)F(0.1) (ref. 6), and 52 K in NdFeAsO(0.89)F(0.11) and PrFeAsO(0.89)F(0.11) (refs 7, 8). These discoveries have generated much interest in the mechanisms and manifestations of unconventional superconductivity in the family of doped quaternary layered oxypnictides LnOTMPn (Ln: La, Pr, Ce, Sm; TM: Mn, Fe, Co, Ni; Pn: P, As), because many features of these materials set them apart from other known superconductors. Here we report resistance measurements of LaFeAsO(0.89)F(0.11) at high magnetic fields, up to 45 T, that show a remarkable enhancement of the upper critical field B(c2) compared to values expected from the slopes dB(c2)/dT approximately 2 T K(-1) near T(c), particularly at low temperatures where the deduced B(c2)(0) approximately 63-65 T exceeds the paramagnetic limit. We argue that oxypnictides represent a new class of high-field superconductors with B(c2) values surpassing those of Nb(3)Sn, MgB(2) and the Chevrel phases, and perhaps exceeding the 100 T magnetic field benchmark of the high-T(c) copper oxides.